Top companies either opt for women from among family and friends or prefer wellknown names – the likes of Irena Vittal, Manisha Girotra of Moelis, Kalpana Morparia of JP Morgan, Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC, Falguni Nayar of Nykaa.com.

"It is challenging to find placements for women executives who are not very well known, not very senior, and do not have a lot of standing," says Arun Duggal, the chairman of Shriram Capital.

India Inc had showed keenness last year on building a pipeline of women executive directors from within the rank and file through rigorous mentoring programmes. However, if the woman is not a marquee name or belonging to promoter family, it is not easy to find them a board position.

"Placement of women on boards is not easy. The real issue women (aspiring to be on boards) are facing is that the New Companies Act does not specify that they have to be independent directors," says Duggal. The mentoring programme Duggal initiated in August last year, to bring more women into the reckoning for corporate board seats, has so far placed about 10 out of 35 women.

The programme will create 100 board-ready women by this year. Duggal, who is running the programme in his individual capacity, has roped in 24 leaders, including former Sebi chairman M Damodaran, HDFC's Deepak Parekh, former SBI chairman MS Verma and GM Rao of the GMR Group, to mentor competent women who can go on to become independent directors.

Among other mentoring initiatives, the Women in Leadership (WILL) Forum has been running a programme called 'Women on Boards Mentoring Series'. Corporates like TCS, Aditya Birla Group, Vodafone and Capgemini are members of the WILL Forum and have been putting high-potential women executives through such mentoring programmes to build their aspiration levels for board positions.

When it comes to appointing women on boards there is a reluctance on part of top companies to bet on women who though accomplished may not belong to the league of "high-profile" women. "It is not easy for more women to get board positions because of the mindset of male-dominated boards. A marquee name on a board is no guarantee of higher value to the board," says M Damodaran, former Sebi chairman. It is important for women to build their image among thought leaders in India Inc through credibility, work profile and ensuring visibility, says Harsh Mariwala, Marico chairman.

"Usually top companies take a look at the profile of a person, the kind of work position, experience and her role in an organisation," he says. The mandate to have one woman on board comes with a zero entry barrier and does not specify that they have to be independent directors, says Prithvi Haldea, chairman and managing director of Prime Database.

"A lot of companies are looking at women in known circles just to meet the mandate. Also, howsoever competent a woman is, no promoter will invite a stranger or someone not known to him or her." "Directors want people of 100 per cent comfort," he says, adding at least five companies he knows are saying they will meet the mandate for women's representation by getting some relative on board.

Listed companies need to have at least one woman on their board, according to the law passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2013. The deadline varies from one year to three years, depending on the company size. However, the Act does not specify that these women have to be independent directors. According to data from Prime Databse, 64 per cent NSE companies will need to appoint a woman director.

"When it comes to top 200 companies, the tendency is to seek high-profile women to be a part of their boardrooms," says Sunit Mehra, managing partner, Hunt Partners, which specialises in board searches. Still, one cannot generalise, says Kalpana Morparia, CEO, JP Morgan India.

"Different companies will have different needs," she says. While some companies will need women with more experience given the complexity of business and the new regulatory regime, others will want a diverse slate of people and so as long as they have some expertise it is fine with them, says Morparia. She is not in favour of mentoring initiatives exclusively for women.